1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to mountable article storage systems and, more particularly, to a article storage system adapted for demountable attachment to strollers, including both soft-sided and hard-sided strollers, car doors and other support structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous portable article carrying units have been disclosed in the art. These units have been designed and constructed for support of a myriad of items and for a plurality of applications. The items include beverages, books, newspapers and small personal items. Their applications include securement to bicycle handlebars, grocery baskets, crutches and similar devices adapted for facilitating ambulatory motion with the conveyance of associated articles. It is not uncommon for such assemblies to have designs adapted specifically for the primary article support application. For example, shopping basket support assemblies have included configured plate assemblies adapted for interengaging the orthogonal frame basket members in a fashion facilitating stability of the configured plate. Such a plate has been constructed for supporting beverage containers, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,278. It may seen in this 1953 patent that the overall configuration affording such stability and ease in assembly is unique to the particular application disclosed therein.
Numerous other attachment devices have been the subject of innovation in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,134,577 illustrates a bicycle handlebar connection assembly affording support for a basket. Although this is a somewhat antiquated, i.e., circa 1915, design, it illustrates the importance of freedom of the user's hands relative to handlebars and the like. More recent developments include handle assemblies for more conventional ambulatory assistance structures. Wheelchairs, for example, are designed to assist the physically impaired and, therefore, convenience assemblies mounted to the wheelchair facilitate both the wheelchair operator and/or those persons assisting the wheelchair operator. Such assemblies include beverage container support and clipboard mounting structures which allow the wheelchair occupant and/or operator immediate access to the articles supported thereby. Indeed, it is the ability to afford the occupant and/or operator of a particular vehicle for which the support structure is associated, ease and access that comprises the most important utilitarian function of the structure. The method and apparatus of attachment have thus been the subject of individual design and engineering considerations. Many of these designs and considerations have been deemed novel throughout the previous decades for a plurality of vehicle and/or frame structures generally associated with ambulatory motion.
Structures associated with ambulatory motion include not only wheelchairs but also bicycles, crutches, shopping carts, and infant strollers. These articles generally require attention by the operator of the ambulatory motion structure. For all of these structures, the hands of the operator are generally fully occupied in controlling the structure. Even so, access to objects such as drinking containers or related supported articles is necessary for the convenience and comfort of the operator. Relative to handlebars for bicycles, strollers, shopping carts and the like, it is often necessary for the user to manually steer the particular wheeled structure as well. It is clearly an encumbrance for the operator to also deal with loose articles such as purses, sweaters, drinks, or infant care articles while handling a bicycle, stroller or shopping cart.
Many innovations in the art have thus addressed these various utilitarian needs by the provision of mechanical assemblies adapted for mounting to handlebar areas for particular structures and applications. U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,175 teaches a beverage container holder for a handlebar which permits its attachment in a convenient location and orientation. The same holds true for U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,312,465 and 4,570,835, both of which teach related beverage container holder supports facilitating user operation. These references manifest the advantages and need for such innovation.
A distinct area of need in handlebar support structures adapted for facilitating the convenience of the user is not only a beverage container support but means for easily supporting the loose articles described above. In the case of shopping carts and baby strollers, it is common for the operator to carry loose sweaters, purses, shopping bags and/or infant care bags. Without proper securement of these articles relative to the shopping cart or stroller, both inconvenience and danger can result due to lack of attention by the operator in the event that the articles become loose, dislodged and/or are generally unsecured. It would be a distinct advance over the art to provide a support assembly specifically adapted for handlebar regions for strollers, carts and the like, thereby facilitating the support of the aforesaid articles in a safe, convenient and economical fashion.
Accordingly, in the parent and grandparent of the present application (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/121,274 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,275, respectively), a support assembly system for use with a generally horizontal bar, shaft, or handle was disclosed and claimed. The support assembly system included a body portion, an end portion extending upwardly from the body portion such that the end portion circumferentially and frictionally grips the generally cylindrical horizontal bar, shaft or handle, and means for removably mounting a generally cylindrical receptacle to the body portion such that the generally cylindrical receptacle extends downwardly from the body portion of the support assembly system. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,755, the great-grandparent of the present application, a similar structure which included first and second hook portions adapted for supporting articles such as packages, clothes and purses was further disclosed and claimed.
While such article support assembly systems provided significant benefits, several limitations in such systems have since been recognized. While the superior ability of the prior systems to supportably mount a beverage container such as a canned drink has long been recognized, it is acknowledged that, under many circumstances, it would be much more desirable if the system were able to support additional foodstuffs, e.g. sandwiches or other loose snacks. Second, the prior article support assembly system was primarily designed for use by the operator of the stroller and was not, therefore, readily accessible to the infant or child being carried thereby. Finally, the structure used to mount the article support assembly system to the horizontal bar of a stroller cart or the like proved suitable only for mounting the system to those devices provided with a generally cylindrical horizontal bar having a diameter within a specified range. Accordingly, the article support assembly system has proven unsuitable for mounting onto various portions of the structural framework of numerous ambulation devices, for example, a passenger door of an automobile, and even certain stroller designs, particularly those characterized by unusually large side or handle bars.
It can be readily seen from the foregoing that it would be desirable to provide an improved article support assembly system capable of supporting a wider array of foodstuffs, be suitable for mounting onto a broader array of ambulation devices and, when mounted onto such devices, be accessible to both the operator and occupant thereof. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such an improved article support assembly system.